Road to Ruisea

❆ ❆ LXIX. JAE ❆ ❆

"Woah."

Jae can't help the word that slips from his mouth, as he marvels at the trees all around him. There must've been hundreds, if not thousands, of giant trees, all with red bushy tops, made up of several smaller five-pointed leaves.

Kumari seems just as wide-eyed, "Maple trees! But... But they're so red!"

Alexei too, is amazed. "I've... I've only seen illustrations of these. In..."

"Fairy tales?" Chiro asks, laughing, but he's just as awed for certain, gently touching the bark of the enormous tree. It must've been taller than all their heights put together.

"Yes," Alexei murmurs dreamily, plucking a bright red leaf and slipping it under his jacket.

"They're so beautiful," Kumari whispers, running her fingers across a stem. "So beautiful... And they have delicious sap, I imagine! Ruisea has perfect tree-tapping weather all the time!"

"We have no time for that," Jae chuckles. "As much as I'd like to stay, we should get out of here before something else happens."

The others seem to be in agreement on that notion, so together they try their best to leave the trees alone, but Jae can't help but smile as he looks at them.

"You were right, Alexei," he says.

"Huh? About what, Jae?"

"You said you read about trees with red leaves that were supposed to grow in these caverns. Well, here they are."

Alexei pats his chest, where Jae knows one of those red leaves have been tucked safely away. "Here they are," he repeats, and it sounds so much more important when he says it.

As they wander through the icy path that cuts through the forest, they finally come upon its end — a door made of stone.

"Uh-oh," Jae looks to Alexei. "Let's hope it's not as stubborn as the last one."

"This time we know to push," Alexei chuckles, reaching out towards it.

Jae shakes his head, speaking in a teasing voice. "No, no! Push from the outside, pull from the inside."

"Ah!" Alexei nods as he remembers. "Right. Then I will pull."

With that, Alexei takes a hold of the large metal handle, and pulls with all his might...

And lands on the ground with an "Oomf!" as the door had swung wide open easily — and it leads directly outside.

Jae says, "I noticed the path seemed to be sloping upwards," just as Kumari exclaims, "Alexei, are you okay!"

Reaching out a hand to Alexei, Kumari tries to help him up. Alexei grabs onto her hand with both of his desperately, almost greedily, and allows her to hoist him up.

"Thank you," he smiles gently at her, cupping her hand tight. "I'm alright, no worries."

"Stay that way," Chiro says, in a faux scolding voice. "We don't need more trouble than we have!"

"What trouble?" Jae jokes. "We've only been trapped for hours with no food or water, in a temperature most of us aren't used to. It'll be fine!"

They all laugh, and slowly pile out of the cavern.

The door swings shut behind them with a loud sound.

"Hope you guys didn't leave anything behind," Kumari giggles.

"Nothing except for a few hairs," Alexei says, rubbing the back of his head as he smiles sheepishly.

Jae turns to look behind, paranoid as ever — though he knows that he essentially went in with nothing, he still has to make sure. But wherever they'd come out of...